How is Freedom Possible? An Answer from Chrysippus of Soloi

The question of freedom was first raised in the Hellenistic times by the Stoics, or more specifically by Chrysippus, the well-known teacher and the creator of the school. He faced the question: How is it possible for a man to be free in the world which is fully determined and which is made up of things and events that were anticipated and included in an everlasting plan called Fate? Chrysippus' solution to the problem is based on the logical distinction between the necessary and the possible and results in the assertion that freedom means being able to express positively individual attitude towards the things and events taking place in the world. The key-term is 'synkatathesis' (the characteristics of human beings only) which is the act of approving or disapproving of the events occurring in our life and by means of which we exercise our freedom.